Bagridae

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Bagridae Fossil range: Eocene - Recent[1]
Rita rita
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Superfamily: Bagroidea Family: Bagridae Bleeker, 1858
Genera
Bagrichthys Bagroides Bagrus Batasio Eomacrones † Gobibagrus † Hemibagrus Hemileiocassis Hyalobagrus Leiocassis Mystus Nanobagrus Neotropius Nigerium † Nkondobagrus † Olyra Pelteobagrus Pseudobagrus Pseudomystus Rama Rita Sperata

Bagridae are a family of catfish that originate from Africa and Asia from Japan to Borneo.^[2] These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes.

Large Bagrids are important as food fish. Some species are kept as aquarium fishes.^[2]

[edit] Physical Characteristics

The dorsal fin is preceded by a spine (except in Olyra). The adipose fin is present and can have a relatively long base in some species. The pectoral fin spine can be serrated. The body is completely naked (they have no scales). The maximum length is about 1.5 m.^[2] Fishes of the Bagridae family have four pairs well-developed barbels; these four pairs of barrels are covered by a layer of taste bud-enriched epithelium.^[3]

[edit] Taxonomy

The taxonomy of this family has changed rapidly. Nelson (2006) comments how "the family is very different from that recognized in Nelson (1994)". Claroteidae and Austroglanididae contain species that were previously Bagrids. Auchenoglanididae is considered by some sources to be a subfamily of Claroteidae and by others to be its own family, sister to Heptapteridae. Taxonomy of the genera Olyra has been debated.^[2]

It is unsure if the family is monophyletic and what its relationship to other catfishes is.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. 
3. ^ Zhang, Genhua; Deng, Shaoping; Zhang, Haiyun; Li, Hongtao; Li, Leilei (2006). "Distribution of different taste buds and expression of a-gustducin in the barbells of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)". Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 32: 55–62. doi:10.1007/s10695-006-6937-z.